Basketball-CSKA edge Panathinaikos to reach Euroleague final

Reuters

By Zoran Milosavljevic

ISTANBUL, May 11 (Reuters) - CSKA Moscow and their topplayer Andrei Kirilenko recovered from a poor start to squeezeinto the final of Europe's premier basketball club competitionwith a 66-64 win over holders Panathinaikos Athens on Friday.

CSKA trailed 29-15 after the first quarter and former UtahJazz forward Kirilenko needed 15 minutes to score his firstpoints but then produced a performance worthy of his NBA primeas the six-time Euroleague winners delighted their fans.

The 31-year-old forward, one of the few NBA imports whostayed in Europe after the July-December lockout in the leaguehad ended, led CSKA with 17 points and nine rebounds inIstanbul's imposing Sinan Erdem Arena.

Alexey Shved came off the bench to add 15 points and Serbianplaymaker Milos Teodosic scored 12, hitting a baseline jumperbefore he missed a pair of free throws in the final minute topresent Panathinaikos with a chance to force one last twist.

But the outgoing champions, who also have six titles, threwaway their final possession and Teodosic was able to breathe asigh of relief as 5,000 noisy Panathinaikos fans were silencedat the end of a rip-roaring contest.

"Had they swung the game their way in the last few seconds Iwould have gone into the locker room crying, it was an emotionalwin and a knife-edged game which could have gone either way,"Teodosic told Reuters.

"I would love to play against my former club OlympiakosPiraeus in the final because I spent four wonderful years thereunder the helm of my countryman Dusan Ivkovic and I would relishthe challenge of facing my friends for the title.

"I feel I have matured at CSKA in my first season herebecause there are so many good players in the roster and thereis absolutely no room for complacency at any point," he said.

Double winners Barcelona, who last won the title in 2010 andromped into this season's Final Four with an 18-1 record throughthe two group stages and the playoffs, take on 1997 championsOlympiakos in the other semi-final later on Friday.

Barca were sweating over the fitness of their inspirationalpoint guard Juan Carlos Navarro after Thursday final's trainingsession, when the former Memphis Grizzlies player said he wasstruggling with a niggling foot injury.